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July 20, 2003 Lori - Burbank, CA ESRA# 2002-478CA Gender: Female Age: Senior Color: Liver/White Variety: Bench/Show Bred

Lori has passed on to the Rainbow Bridge due to natural causes. She romps now with Jan at the Bridge.

Lori came to us from Camarillo, California, where ESRA member Bob Pola found her shivering in a shelter, abandoned and alone. She was obviously a senior Springer, and months of neglect left her with a coat that was urine-soaked and matted to the skin. Realizing that dogs in this condition almost never get adopted from shelters, Bob bundled her into his car and drove her an hour south to meet her new foster mom. Nobody knew anything about Lori's history, but we did know that it was unfair that this nice dog, who must have been a faithful companion for many years, had been deserted by people just when she needed them most. It's a sad story, and one that is repeated every holiday season when aging dogs turn up in shelters in alarming numbers.

Upon her arrival in her new foster home, Lori's first few hours involved a good meal, a haircut, and a warm bath. Her coat was so matted that she had to be shaved, leaving her little fur to protect her from the December drafts. But Lori tolerated the two-hour marathon procedure like an angel, snoozing until she needed to turn over. After her bath she was like a different dog, and she trotted around the house proudly in a sweatshirt, grateful for any attention we paid her.

Unfortunately for Lori, her troubles weren't completely over. At her initial vet check-up we discovered that Lori suffered from an early-stage case of kidney disease. While Lori's condition was not curable, there was lots we could do to help manage her symptoms and slow progression of the disease. She took a medication that helped her hold her urine and she ate a special diet that's available from vets, though it's easily made at home from scratch, and was Lori's preference! This regimen, along with lots of TLC, helped Lori's kidneys function more normally and helped her feel better.

Health problems aside, Lori was a happy, surprisingly energetic little girl who thought the world revolved around her. She loved squeak toys, tug-of-war, scratches behind the ear, a warm spot by the fireplace, and she just LIVED for medication time (because her foster mom hid pills in pieces of hotdogs, and even though the other dogs had let on that the hotdogs are the fake nonfat kind, Lori didn't seem to care). Lori was the perfect lounging companion--someone who understood that Brett Favre needs quiet in the living room on a third-and-long--and she wanted nothing more than a special person who would give her back some of the love she had given over the years. She found that in her foster mom.

Godspeed, old girl, romp on!

LORI'S GENEROUS SPONSORS THAT MADE LIFE MORE LIVABLE FOR HER:
Bob Knell	In memory of my best friend Samantha
David & Cally Bybee
Karl Johson and Michelle Giger	In loving memory of Sugar, whom we adopted through ESRA
Rob & Paige Bethke	In memory of Mitzi
Peggy Outly
Michael & Jeanne McArtan	In memory of our sweet little Pea Pie
Denise Zellman	In memory of Brandy and Springer
Leota Svetlik
Nancy McClintock
Kent Marohl
Debra LeBlanc	In memory of Grendel
Betty Lamp	In memory of Bentley, My Best Bud
Karen Klotzly	In memory of Spike
Judy and Don Hagler	In memory of Bart and Athena
Frank and Christine Bohn
Lois Black and Robert Linn
Katrin Owen
Gary and Margaret Hanes	In memory of little Maddie in Texas
Judy Aten	In memory of Stanley Davis and Ada Chase.
Jackie Benfield	In memory of my beloved friend Quincy.
Bernard F Gerding Jr.	In memory of Casey, my first beautiful springer
Mike and Lori Sala	Because of Bobb & Suzy
Ken John	In memory of Melissa my Lovely
Palma Friery	In honor of Oliver, my loving Springer